A Big Boy and a Little Boy

I want to start off by saying how proud I am of Brad! He has mastered the art of riding a bike WITHOUT training wheels! Nick took them off a few weeks ago and we worked with him on it for a few days until he got the hang of it. The hardest part was getting started but he eventually figured it out and now he loves riding his bike again.

 As for my other little one, his cord fell off a couple of days ago so that means we got to give him his first official "tub" bath! And he did not like it one bit. You would have thought we stuck him in boiling water by the way he was wailing! However we snuggled him good afterwards and he was a happy boy again. Clean babies smell so nice!

8 Days of Being a Family of 4

We are home and adjusting well to our new life! The doctor kept us at the hospital an extra night and day to watch Jacob's blood sugars. They had me supplement some formula after nursing until my milk came in.

Brad was very excited for us to come home Tuesday evening and he pushed the cart for us with our things to the car.

 

 Very first car ride!

 Holding his baby brother for the first time

So far things are going well. Nick has been a huge help with the baby, Brad, and the house. He cooks meals, cleans, goes grocery shopping, and takes Brad to/from school. I get about 5-6hr of sleep in intervals during the night and I get by pretty good thru the day. For the most part Jacob sleeps well and has a huge appetite that can be hard to keep up with.

We took him to the pediatrician today for his 1 week checkup and they were very happy with everything. He doesn't have to come back until he is 2 months old. His current weight/height is:

9lb 7oz

22 in

Happy Birthday!

JACOB ANTHONY PIERCE

....has arrived! And boy he arrived with a bang. Completely unlike his big brother and we are all so happy that he is finally here. Here is the story!

At 1:45am this morning I woke up with sharp abdominal pains. I started watching the clock to time them and the first one I counted was 5 minutes apart, but after that they were about 3 minutes apart AND my water broke. I got up and went to the bathroom and they quickly got stronger. I woke Nick up and told him it was time! We immediately called his mom to come over and stay with Brad so that we could head out.

I stumbled around the house to gather our bags pausing every few minutes to struggle thru the contractions. I was NOT looking forward to the drive to the hospital. We got the car all packed and as soon as my MIL pulled into the driveway we ran off! I told Nick to turn on the flashers and fly! Let's just say he made the usually 30 minute drive in about 15 minutes.

Thankfully I had already filled out the registration paperwork and as I barely made it thru the entrance they stuck me in an exam room while Nick parked the car. It was about 3am at this point. The contractions were super bad and I was very afraid it would be too late to get an epidural. They still had to page the on-call CRNA and wait for him to come in. Anywho they checked me as soon as I got in the exam room and only 1 hour after my contractions started I was at an 8!!!!!

At this point it was all I could do to get thru each one, and I could barely talk in between to sign consent forms. I kept my eyes shut and kept saying prayers to have strength. They wheeled me into a labor/delivery room and I could hear all of the commotion and workers around me getting everything ready. I heard the on-call OB come in (who I know and work with) and introduce herself but I could only keep my eyes shut and breathe. Then I heard the magical words: "Brian is here". Brian is the CRNA to do the epidurals and I obeyed everything they needed me to do to get it.

By this time I was at 9cm and Brian thought it would go super quick so he only did a spinal injection of pain medicine that would last about an hour. I did get relief and it was so very welcome....until it started wearing off! Jacob was having trouble getting past my pelvic bone (just like his big brother) so it drug out for a couple more hours. Around 5am-ish I started feeling the super painful contractions again so we called Brian back. He stuck me in the back again but this time for an epidural injection. After that I couldn't even feel the butt I was sitting on!

 I did some pushing around 6ish then we took a break so that Nick could help the nurses position me differently to help baby move around. Around 6:45am the OB checked me again and he had moved just right to get past the pubic bone. She had me push a few times and he popped right out with no trouble at 6:58am!

 

 They immediately put him on my chest while they rubbed him clean and Nick cut the cord. I snuggled him under my gown for awhile before he nursed, then after he was done they did his newborn bloodwork and shots in the room.

 

 When he came out everyone was commenting how big he was. I figured since he came out so much quicker and easier than Brad that he couldn't be more than 8.5lb. When they finally weighed him.........I was way off!

 9lb 9oz

21.5 inches

Wow! A big boy indeed. He got a nice sponge bath then we snuggled him up in some clean clothes and got moved to a postpartum room just in time for breakfast! We have had lots of visitors today and everyone is so happy to see our little angel finally here. He has been a wonderful baby so far with a huge appetite. Tomorrow morning he will get his last few newborn screenings done and get circumcised, then we will head home hopefully in the afternoon! We are so very blessed to have gotten to this point and we are so thankful for everything God has given us. We have overcome infertility and heartache once again and are proud to introduce our precious baby boy.

The Birth "Plan"

I had my final prenatal appointment today! I am 39 weeks and 2 days along and I am booked to be induced on Monday evening. I was pretty gung-ho about not being induced, but I think things will go much better this time since my girl stuff already knows what it's supposed to do.

Last week I was dilated to about a 2.5cm and 80% effaced. They booked me to come in Monday the 13th at 6pm to begin the Cervidil overnight, then Pitocin drip in the morning. Today she checked me and I am dilated 3-4cm AND I talked her into stripping my membranes (ouch!). She said my cervix is all ready to go and we can skip the Cervidil! Now we come in at 10pm on Monday and they will start the Pitocin drip after I'm checked in and have an IV. With any luck my little one will be born Tuesday morning or afternoon and maybe we'll go home early Wednesday!!

I work tomorrow and it will be my LAST day before I start maternity leave. Hopefully they have mercy on me because these loins are feeling heavy! I was pretty crampy right after the doctor visit but I think it's subsiding a bit. Of course I could still go into labor on my own at any point--which would be ideal--so we are ready for that too, but either way he'll be here by the end of Tuesday! I have already been having frequent contractions for the last few weeks. Sometimes they are about 6 minutes apart even! I know they are just Braxton-Hicks and aren't the real thing but I have been on high alert waiting for the real stuff to start! I never had any of this with Bradley--he was just a happy camper staying in there until we dragged him out.

My MIL Penny has graciously accepted our request to stay at our house with Bradley while we are in the hospital. That way he doesn't have to miss school and she can watch our house and cats. She will still bring him up to visit us of course and she won't have to make the hour drive from our house to her house while things are going on.

Thank you for following our intense and emotional journey to parenthood! We are in the final days now and my next blog post will be all about our new bundle of joy! Check back soon!

Crafts and Easter

Today I am 38 weeks and 5 days along! I have been trying to get a few last sewing projects out of the way, but one thing that just couldn't wait was baby's coming home outfit! I made a special onesie for him, and a shirt for Bradley.

I finally embroidered Brad's library bag that he uses during the summer for library trips while school is out.

A doctor I work with is due a week after me and she is naming her little boy Dash. Their nursery theme is Travel, so I made her some coordinating custom burp cloths!

 

And of course I couldn't go without making little Jacob his very own burp cloths!

 

 

Today is Easter and I hope everyone who celebrates was able to spend time with their family and remember the reason for the holiday. After our church service this morning we gathered up some food and headed over to my mom's house to join the rest of my family for a big lunch! It was moist outside but dry enough for the kiddos to run around looking for eggs!

 

 

This Thursday is my last checkup before my scheduled induction on the 13th. I really hope little Jacob decides to make his appearance before then! We have everything ready for him to join us and I can't wait to hold him and kiss his forehead.